1/22/04 - Suggested topics:

1. A large controversy emerged at the James Randi convention in Las Vegas as a result of remarks made by Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller. Basically, Penn insisted that any skeptic should be an atheist. Do you agree or disagree with that assertion? (Online discussion)
2. What was your opinion of Bush's State of the Union Address? What did you think of the Democratic response?
3. Do you believe infant euthanasia should be legal?
4. CBS officially turned down proposed Super Bowl ads by both MoveOn.org and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) because of their controversial nature and content. CBS executives believed the ads were not appropriate for the festive professional football game. Do you agree with their decision? How would these ads be any less controversial than the 2003 and 2002's ads equating smoking pot with terrorism?
5. Should the privileges that legally married couples obtain, be available to opposite sex couples, same sex couples, and/or alternative unmarried cohabitors? (The activist group Marriage Equality counts 1,049 federal benefits, rights, and responsibilities available only to legally married couples.) How has our idea of "family" changed or is changing?
6. How do you feel about Bush's immigration proposal?
7. What was your reaction to the results of the Iowa caucuses? What affect will the results have on the Democratic race?

Quote of the week: "Skepticism is a methodology whereby claims are evaluated to make provisional conclusions. The term provisional is used to emphasize that any conclusion can be relinquished in light of further evidence or information. A large part of the methodology associated with skepticism is embodied in the scientific method. There are many misconceptions associated with skepticism (as skeptics define it) among non-skeptics. Skepticism is not a rejection of any new idea in favor of the status quo. Similarly, good skeptics do not simply pick and choose the evidence that favor their position, but rather critically evaluate the evidence presented to them. This leads to a key point that is sometimes understated. Skepticism is not merely reaching a conclusion because some set of evidence was presented, but rather using logic and reason to evaluate the quality of evidence that leads to a conclusion. This is the heart of skepticism." [Michael Shermer]

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